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MacMillan publicist Angie Willocks said the book would not be distributed in New Zealand but that the company would make no further comment.

The star's lawyer Bert Fields has previously condemned the book as "a rehash of tired old lies about Tom and his religion, some new grotesque lies".

"Clearly the book is actionable, but I'm not commenting on anything to do with legal issues," Mr Fields said.

Andrew Howard of Dymocks New Zealand said the book never made it into the country and Dymocks had decided not to try and source it straight from the US.

"The US has different legislation than New Zealand and Australia. There are some issues with the book having legal questions asked and we would need those tidied up before we stock it," Mr Howard said.

He said it could be a matter of altering a few lines but was likely to be more.

Mr Howard said Dymocks had not anticipated the book selling well but that publicity over legal issues could boost sales.

"It's good marketing spin from somebody and it wouldn't be the first time we've seen this sort of tactic used. It doesn't mean the book is any good," Mr Howard said.

The Auckland branch of the Church of Scientology has not heard of any legal threats made by the church against the book.